This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
Safaricom has announced a significant increase in net profit for the first half of 2019, with a 14.4% rise to Ksh. 35.7 billion.
The company's CEO, Michael Joseph, attributed the growth to the success of M-Pesa and fixed data, which have seen a significant increase in customer numbers and usage.
According to Mr. Joseph, customer growth remained strong in the first half of the year, with more than double the net additions compared to the previous year.
He also revealed that M-Pesa has been on a steady climb, with a 12.4% growth in customer numbers and 11.4% growth in usage.
Mobile data customers have also grown by 14.8%, with a positive outlook for the second half of the year.
Mr. Joseph noted that data consumption per customer per MB has increased by 43.6%, while savings and lending have contributed 5.7 ppts, with Fuliza being a major driver of this growth.
In just 9 months, Fuliza's revenue has made up half of the revenue in the saving and lending bucket, he said.
Additionally, Safaricom has remitted Ksh. 98.13 billion in duties, taxes, and license fees.
The company's App has also seen significant growth, with over 4.09 million downloads and a market share of 63.5% according to data from the Communications Authority.
Speaking at a briefing on Friday, Safaricom Board Chairman Nicholas Ng'ang'a noted that this was the first briefing without the late Bob Collymore in the last thirteen years.
He also announced that Mr. Joseph has agreed to stay on as CEO for the remainder of the financial year to March 31, 2020.
Mr. Ng'ang'a also raised concerns about the proposed Airtel-Telkom merger, citing the debt owed by the two operators and the need to rebalance frequencies allocation.
He also called for equal treatment of operators and creation of a level playing field within the industry, specifically in relation to licensing and operations requirements.
Furthermore, he expressed concern about proposed amendments to the Kenya Information and Communication Act that would require businesses such as Safaricom to separate their GSM and mobile money businesses.
He urged caution, stating that prescriptive legislation of this nature may end up dampening investor markets.
